What do you think?
Rate this book
Heartland Holidays #2
Best Christmas Ever
Christmas bells, wedding bells
Sergeant Nick Gallagher had come home to the Gallagher farm to be in a Christmas wedding. But the carefree bachelor had only planned to be his brother's best man, not a groom! Nick had never thought about settling down, but soon lovely neighbor Allison Lee sent visions of more than sugarplums dancing in his head.
Allison didn't trust men--especially ones as handsome as Nick. And although the Gallaghers were a warm and loving family, she certainly had no plans to join them--no matter how often the rugged sergeant ordered her to fall in! But how could she give a man who showed such tenderness his marching orders?
HEARTLAND HOLIDAYS...Come home for the holidays and stay for love.
Sergeant Nick Gallagher had come home to the Gallagher farm to be in a Christmas wedding. But the carefree bachelor had only planned to be his brother's best man, not a groom! Nick had never thought about settling down, but soon lovely neighbor Allison Lee sent visions of more than sugarplums dancing in his head.
Allison didn't trust men--especially ones as handsome as Nick. And although the Gallaghers were a warm and loving family, she certainly had no plans to join them--no matter how often the rugged sergeant ordered her to fall in! But how could she give a man who showed such tenderness his marching orders?
HEARTLAND HOLIDAYS...Come home for the holidays and stay for love.
189 pages, Paperback
First published December 1, 1992
About the author
Stella Bagwell
446 books88 followersAt seventeen, Stella married her high school sweetheart: Harrell, and they had a son Jason. She began her writing career almost by accident. She was a hairdresser and worked in her sister's beauty shop. Ironically, Stella developed a severe allergy to hairspray and was forced to resign. With time on her hands, Stella wanted to do something creative. She remembered a high school English teacher telling her she could be a writer if she wanted. Although she always loved reading romances, she never thought to write one herself. Armed with that now notion and an old, manual typewriter, she went to work, attempting to create a story similar to those she liked reading. The result‚ her first book, purchased by Mills & Boon and issued under the Harlequin imprint. After that, she became a full time writer and today, has close to forty published novels. Her for the future is to continue writing romance novels as long as there's an audience to enjoy her work.
Next to writing, traveling is one of her most favorite activities. Yet, because the southwest is dear to her heart, she sets most of her books there in rough, rugged ranch country. She feels it's essential to know a place before writing about it; that philosophy gives her more reason to plan trips! The marriage has always lived in southeastern Oklahoma. But, they purchased a portion of a twenty-two hundred, acre ranch; they now make their home there. Before moving onto the ranch, she had a swimming pool in her back yard and spent most of her summer evenings in the water. Her husband has promised to put in another pool, but for now she has to make do with the creek that runs through their property. The closest town of three thousand is fifteen miles away; she says she loves the seclusion, living among the woods and horses and wildlife. The only thing she doesn't like is making the thirty mile round trip to the post office or grocery store. Worse still, is the eighty-five mile trip to get office supplies!
One of her greatest joys was to see Jason, her only son, graduate from college with degrees in math and physical education. He now lives in Port Lavaca, Texas, where he teaches high school algebra and geometry and coaches football and weightlifting. Family has always come first with Stella and she enjoys spending time with her son when he visits Oklahoma. Sometimes, she and her husband drive down to the Texas coast to see him. However, her mother, step-father and siblings all live nearby and they have routine get-togethers. In her spare time, she enjoys practicing violin and guitar, both of which she can play by ear. She claims to need years of practice before calling herself a musician. Stella also enjoys gardening and being outdoors.
Next to writing, traveling is one of her most favorite activities. Yet, because the southwest is dear to her heart, she sets most of her books there in rough, rugged ranch country. She feels it's essential to know a place before writing about it; that philosophy gives her more reason to plan trips! The marriage has always lived in southeastern Oklahoma. But, they purchased a portion of a twenty-two hundred, acre ranch; they now make their home there. Before moving onto the ranch, she had a swimming pool in her back yard and spent most of her summer evenings in the water. Her husband has promised to put in another pool, but for now she has to make do with the creek that runs through their property. The closest town of three thousand is fifteen miles away; she says she loves the seclusion, living among the woods and horses and wildlife. The only thing she doesn't like is making the thirty mile round trip to the post office or grocery store. Worse still, is the eighty-five mile trip to get office supplies!
One of her greatest joys was to see Jason, her only son, graduate from college with degrees in math and physical education. He now lives in Port Lavaca, Texas, where he teaches high school algebra and geometry and coaches football and weightlifting. Family has always come first with Stella and she enjoys spending time with her son when he visits Oklahoma. Sometimes, she and her husband drive down to the Texas coast to see him. However, her mother, step-father and siblings all live nearby and they have routine get-togethers. In her spare time, she enjoys practicing violin and guitar, both of which she can play by ear. She claims to need years of practice before calling herself a musician. Stella also enjoys gardening and being outdoors.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
December 27, 2010
I couldn't stand the hero.
From the back cover:
Christmas Bells, Wedding Bells...
When Nick Gallagher returned to his hometown for his brother's Christmas wedding, the confirmed bachelor and military man had to exchange his usual army fatigues for something more suitable--the tux of a best man. Nick had never thought about settling down, but soon he found his attention straying...mostly to the very pretty neighbour next door.
Allison Lee doesn't trust men--especially ones as charming and handsome as Nick. She knew firsthand that men usually ran of at the mention of the word "commitment". And she couldn't risk having her heart broken again. But even as Allison withdrew, Nick seemed to draw closer...
And my review:
This is a reprint. This story was originally published in 1992.
I've found that Stella Bagwell is a hit-or-miss author. I've enjoyed some of her books, and hated others. Unfortunately, THE BEST CHRISTMAS EVER was not one from the former catagory.
The author's writing style is engaging and flowing, if you ignore the big of back-and-forth with the points of view in each scene. The author tended to jump from the hero's thoughts to the heroine's and back and forth throughout each scene, which got pretty distracting and annoying after awhile.
I was looking forward to reading about two commitment-phobic people finding true love. Nick is your standard "don't fence me in" romance hero, while Allison is your standard "burned by a man in the past" heroine. Since she'd been left not only with a broken heart, but a son to raise on her own, it was understandable that Allison would want to hold Nick at arm's length.
But Nick would have none of it. And this is where it got annoying. He decides he's interested, and so starts pursuing her, ignoring everything she says. The word "no" means nothing to him. Even if his intentions are good, constantly over-ruling someone because you supposedly "know better" is very childish and rude. After a while, I wanted to smack his face. He offers to help her carry her son to her car. She says no thanks. He goes ahead and does it anyway. He then hops in her car so that he can help unload the kid at her house, in spite of her protests. He sees that she has no fire in her fireplace, and makes one. Never mind that the heroine just told him she didn't want a fire. See the pattern emerging? The heroine even tells him that it's rude to constantly overrule what someone says, even when your intentions are good.
So what does he turn around and do two seconds later? He sees that she doesn't have a Christmas tree in her living room. Well, she must have been waiting for this big man to help her get one, right? Grr. He doesn't ask, would you like some help getting a Christmas tree? or would you even like one at all? No, instead he announces to her "I'm coming over tommorrow at six and we'll go and get a Christmas tree." What is wrong with this guy? You don't tell someone, you ask them. And if they refuse, you back off!
A woman has a right to say "no thanks" and a man should respect it--even if he thinks he knows better! (This is along the same line of twisted reasoning that rapists use--"well, she secretly wanted it anyway") Creepy or what? His behavior was just so disrespectful and chauvnistic and I lost all respect for him. I wanted the heroine to go and find someone better. And hating the hero is the kiss of death for a romance novel.
From the back cover:
Christmas Bells, Wedding Bells...
When Nick Gallagher returned to his hometown for his brother's Christmas wedding, the confirmed bachelor and military man had to exchange his usual army fatigues for something more suitable--the tux of a best man. Nick had never thought about settling down, but soon he found his attention straying...mostly to the very pretty neighbour next door.
Allison Lee doesn't trust men--especially ones as charming and handsome as Nick. She knew firsthand that men usually ran of at the mention of the word "commitment". And she couldn't risk having her heart broken again. But even as Allison withdrew, Nick seemed to draw closer...
And my review:
This is a reprint. This story was originally published in 1992.
I've found that Stella Bagwell is a hit-or-miss author. I've enjoyed some of her books, and hated others. Unfortunately, THE BEST CHRISTMAS EVER was not one from the former catagory.
The author's writing style is engaging and flowing, if you ignore the big of back-and-forth with the points of view in each scene. The author tended to jump from the hero's thoughts to the heroine's and back and forth throughout each scene, which got pretty distracting and annoying after awhile.
I was looking forward to reading about two commitment-phobic people finding true love. Nick is your standard "don't fence me in" romance hero, while Allison is your standard "burned by a man in the past" heroine. Since she'd been left not only with a broken heart, but a son to raise on her own, it was understandable that Allison would want to hold Nick at arm's length.
But Nick would have none of it. And this is where it got annoying. He decides he's interested, and so starts pursuing her, ignoring everything she says. The word "no" means nothing to him. Even if his intentions are good, constantly over-ruling someone because you supposedly "know better" is very childish and rude. After a while, I wanted to smack his face. He offers to help her carry her son to her car. She says no thanks. He goes ahead and does it anyway. He then hops in her car so that he can help unload the kid at her house, in spite of her protests. He sees that she has no fire in her fireplace, and makes one. Never mind that the heroine just told him she didn't want a fire. See the pattern emerging? The heroine even tells him that it's rude to constantly overrule what someone says, even when your intentions are good.
So what does he turn around and do two seconds later? He sees that she doesn't have a Christmas tree in her living room. Well, she must have been waiting for this big man to help her get one, right? Grr. He doesn't ask, would you like some help getting a Christmas tree? or would you even like one at all? No, instead he announces to her "I'm coming over tommorrow at six and we'll go and get a Christmas tree." What is wrong with this guy? You don't tell someone, you ask them. And if they refuse, you back off!
A woman has a right to say "no thanks" and a man should respect it--even if he thinks he knows better! (This is along the same line of twisted reasoning that rapists use--"well, she secretly wanted it anyway") Creepy or what? His behavior was just so disrespectful and chauvnistic and I lost all respect for him. I wanted the heroine to go and find someone better. And hating the hero is the kiss of death for a romance novel.
July 6, 2017
4.5 stars Military guy and a single mom. Good story.
December 16, 2019
Awesome
Awesome book, Hope there will be another one.. Couldn't put it down, read it in 2 short hours, it was just that good
Awesome book, Hope there will be another one.. Couldn't put it down, read it in 2 short hours, it was just that good
December 16, 2020
Pretty good - think I rad twice - Sgt in army comes home for Christmas and finds love
Read in 2/17
Read in 2/17
June 8, 2024
Cute story
July 18, 2016
The first fifty pages were a little rocky for me to get through. It was a quick read, but I found the story pretty boring. The next hundred pages picked up my interest. It was the classic love story where boy meets girl, boy falls in love with girl, girl not convinced, girl finally convinced. There was no passion, just the main character Nick constantly trying to convince Allison that he loved her.
He was pretty bossy and didn’t take no for an answer, which can be kind of cute, but not really the way he portrayed it. I felt like the entire story Allison always said no and Nick did it anyway. If he really loved her than maybe he should have listened to her and respected her decisions. I also felt like the story needed to be spiced up a bit. There were no sexy romance scenes. I didn’t need there to be sex, but I felt like there was no passion or heat between the two characters. A marriage isn’t going to last without passion.
The ending was predictable but pretty unrealistic. If you were bored and had a spare day to read a book, this book could easily be finished but other than that I wouldn’t waste my time.
He was pretty bossy and didn’t take no for an answer, which can be kind of cute, but not really the way he portrayed it. I felt like the entire story Allison always said no and Nick did it anyway. If he really loved her than maybe he should have listened to her and respected her decisions. I also felt like the story needed to be spiced up a bit. There were no sexy romance scenes. I didn’t need there to be sex, but I felt like there was no passion or heat between the two characters. A marriage isn’t going to last without passion.
The ending was predictable but pretty unrealistic. If you were bored and had a spare day to read a book, this book could easily be finished but other than that I wouldn’t waste my time.
December 17, 2013
A sweet, frothy and rather insubstantial romance - the short length means there's little chance to believably develop the romance between Nick and Allison. Once burned, twice shy, Allison is a single mother who's on the fringes of Nick's fabulous family, helping her friends with their Christmas wedding preparations. Nick breezes in from his military base and falls almost instantly in love.
The story reads as if their relationship is incredibly compressed and it's impossible to believe that the two of them would fall in love as quickly and completely as they did. There's very little of a physical connection, too, but plenty of sweet moments with Allison's young son, Ben. If you want a light and easy romance read, themed for the holidays, you can still find a lot to enjoy.
The story reads as if their relationship is incredibly compressed and it's impossible to believe that the two of them would fall in love as quickly and completely as they did. There's very little of a physical connection, too, but plenty of sweet moments with Allison's young son, Ben. If you want a light and easy romance read, themed for the holidays, you can still find a lot to enjoy.
June 11, 2012
I started this book on a Friday and finished it on Sunday. It was a quick read and an enjoyable one. A love story that you wish could be true. Fun, easy and light read.
Read
July 31, 2011Pretty good book, would have been better to read around Christmas, but a good light read for any romantic
February 6, 2013
It was okay. Same basic plot of all the other Harlequin/Silhouette books.
April 27, 2013
Hated this.
September 10, 2014
Quick, light, romantic read. Always enjoy Christmas stories.
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews